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Shoto is not a bigot.
Yes, he’s had a controversy or two, but that’s never been intentional. The chief of police just happened to be a dog, and the appropriate word might’ve slipped out. In his defence, it’s never happened again. He picks his words very carefully now.
He can control his mouth, but his emotions and internal dialogue are another story.
Hence why he’s currently conducting a routine investigation as to why his heart plummets every time Katsuki Bakugo’s attention is not on him.
Further investigation is required. Much further investigation.
He thinks back to the events leading up to this research needing to be conducted in the first place.
Exhibit A: Tuesday morning, 8:12 AM
Bakugo was leaning against the lockers, arms crossed as he pulled one of those ‘I cannot believe I'm having this conversation’ expressions he so often wears as he spoke to Kirishima. He was laughing at something, probably a ridiculous pun. Shoto couldn’t be sure; he was too far away to hear, and it would definitely be weird to just walk over and listen (and he’s not weird. Or a bigot, in case you missed that).
He slows his movements; the books in his locker that were perfectly fine as they were suddenly needed to be arranged alphabetically. He doesn’t care; he’s just curious as to why Bakugo hasn’t started yelling yet. It’s not like he was keeping track of how long the blond holds eye contact with Kirishima as he talks and laughs at his own jokes (around 12 seconds before he rolls his eyes) or how close they’re standing (unreasonably close, in Shoto’s expert, non-bigoted opinion).
He feels a faint, unfamiliar irritation. He blames it on the weather. Or maybe low blood sugar, since he hasn't eaten yet.
“Yo, ‘Roki! Y’know when Kaminari fell flat on his face yesterday? Well, I asked and apparently it’s because he took some dodgy melatonin and—”
He thanked the universe for Sero’s usually horrific timing. Now he had an excuse to walk past the pair under the guise of just walking to class. With rapid timing, he stuck by Sero’s side as he blabbered on about Denki’s melatonin consumption and tuned it out when they came within hearing range of whatever the redhead was talking about.
“And I'm telling you, man, I know it’s a kids show, but Zuko’s redemption might be one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen. I got chills, bro. Chills! Not just regular chills, the chills that kill!”
Oh. They were talking about a TV show. He’s not quite sure what he expected. Maybe something more personal that he has no business being involved in in the first place.
“Oi, Tape face. Your laces are untied.”
Sero is midway through his own tangent until Bakugo points out the laces issue. He stops in the hallway, shooting him a playful two fingered salute, “What would I do without you, huh?”
Bakugo only rolls his eyes in response, which gives the two toned boy approximately four seconds to analyse his body language up close.
Shoulders relaxed, hands in his pockets, eyebrows slightly furrowed.
He seemed fairly…normal?
He can’t pinpoint why he needed to know what.
He concludes with curiosity. For now.
Which would be reasonable if the interaction ended here. It didn't.
It festers all morning like a splinter he can’t remove. He keeps catching himself glancing towards Bakugo and Kirishima during lessons, convinced they’re laughing about some private joke he has a strange desire to be a part of.
By lunch, Shoto had decided that the only logical course of action was to gather more primary data. So, he approaches Bakugo at his table, trying to appear as casual as he could manage. Which wasn’t casual in the slightest.
“So,” he starts with the subtlety of a heavy lift crane in a village, “What did Kirishima want this morning?”
Bakugo eyed him suspiciously. “He was talking about Avatar. The bald kid, not the blue aliens.”
The younger nodded, as if it made perfect sense, “Right. The bald kid. I’ve seen it.”
“Really? What’s it about then? Shitty hair has garbage summaries.”
Shoto’s mind goes blank with impressive speed. He racks his brain for anything he might have overheard or seen on the internet.
“Well, there’s this boy.”
“Gathered that.”
“And he can control all the elements, and he has a…moose.” He’s almost certain there’s a moose. He’s praying there’s a moose, “And he meets these people who help him control the elements and bring world peace. It’s like game of thrones.” He hasn’t even watched Game of Thrones.
“Game of Thrones had a shit ending, and nothing about that was peaceful.”
Oh. Maybe he should watch Avatar. And Game of Thrones too, while he’s at it.
Bakugo’s eyebrow twitches upwards, “You haven’t watched it, have you?”
“I skipped a few episodes.”
“No shit, Halfie.”
Curiosity, he decides, is a dangerous thing indeed.
Exhibit B: Thursday Afternoon, 1:37 PM
It happened again.
This time, Bakugo is sitting at the gym steps, bent over Midoriya’s phone. Sero pressed in on one side, Midoriya on the other. They’re all watching something on his screen, and from the waves of laughter echoing across the count, whatever it is must be hilarious.
Nothing can be that funny, surely.
He’s not watching, obviously. He’s simply waiting for Yaoyorozu to finish her stretches nearby. Completely unrelated.
Still, his eyes flicker over to the trio every few seconds, noting that the blond’s shoulder is practically glued to his childhood companions, who laugh so hard he nearly headbutts Bakugo in the jaw. He grumbles something, but he doesn’t move away. That’s weird.
That prick of annoyance returns.
Not full-blown rage; Shoto hardly ever gets angry to that degree. Just a stutter of static in his chest, like the feeling you get when your shirt catches on the door handle, or when your nail bends backwards. You’ll survive, but it’s not enjoyable.
He tries to focus on the water bottle. It’s a very nice water bottle: green, stainless steel, has an ideal capacity for water. He unscrews and re-screws the cap for no reason at all. Just necessary stimulation, apparently.
He glances up again. Still laughing.
Momo pauses her stretches after Jiro jogs over to ask her something Shoto doesn’t deem relevant. So, he takes a deep breath and approaches Kaminari, who’s sprawled nearby, scrolling on his phone.
He leans over, yet again attempting subtlety, “Midoriya and Bakugo hang out a lot.”
Kaminari looks up, blinking in Shoto's shadow, “You know they’ve been friends since diapers? They’re like, friends, dude.”
He nods, fair enough. It’s not new information. “Right. They’re just very, very close.”
“Yeah. No clue how he’s put up with him for so long.”
“…Yep.”
Kaminari grins, as if sensing something, “Jealous?”
Shoto blinks. That’s ridiculous. Jealousy isn’t even a possibility here. It’s not even an option. He’s allowed to be curious. The implication of jealousy makes him pull a visible face.
“Touchy topic? You’re good. They’re probably just watching something stupid like they always do.”
Shoto hums, pretending to be satisfied with this answer, but the static lingers.
“What are you doing with your face?” Kaminari sits up and tilts his head. He raises an eyebrow. Was he doing something with his face? “Nothing. The sun is in my eye.”
“Right.” He drags out the letters as if he’s come to a conclusion quicker than he usually does, which is rare. “You’re right. They are really, really close. Maybe they’re secret lovers. How did I not notice this sooner?”
Shoto is baffled. Mainly because he said it out loud and now knows he’s not going insane. He knew he wasn’t losing it. Kaminari sees it too, right?
“Todoroki.”
Not that it’s strange to spend time with people of the same sex; it’s very normal. He just couldn’t be sure if he was reading too much into it.
“…Todo?”
How long have they kept this up, he wonders. Has he been oblivious until recently? He should probably work on analysing context clues. Is he supposed to ask? No. That might be rude. Maybe he should be more discreet. Like buying them a cake.
“Are you zoned out or...?”
He doesn’t really want to buy them a cake, though. Not in a bigoted way; he just doesn’t see what that would do. It’s not his relationship. He’s just interested in the logistics. Such as why they work, maybe. Or how they communicate when they argue. Shoto is a great communicator most of the time.
“Dude. I’m fucking with you.”
“Hm?”
“I was joking. I think Bakugo would rather die.”
Right. Clearly, because that wouldn’t work. It’s completely platonic between them.
Unless—
No, shut up, Shoto. Stop being nosey. It doesn’t concern you.
“I knew you were joking.” He did, in fact, not.
Later, as he heads to the locker room, he catches his reflection in the window and wonders, for a split second, if he’s just having a weird day.
He decides that must be it.
Weird day. Which he’s been having a lot of lately.
Nothing to see here.
Exhibit C: Friday evening, 8:08 PM
The dorm common room is busy. Someone threw on a movie after about twenty minutes of debating what to watch; they ended up with Wreck-It Ralph because a surprising majority agreed it was the greatest piece of fiction ever created.
Mina and Denki are busy arguing about popcorn flavours again while Shoto sits on the couch between Sero and Iida, supposedly discussing tomorrow’s schedule. It’s no surprise Iida is outlining the importance of punctuality with the fervour of someone auditioning for the role of official timekeeper.
He’s not listening. He’s completely and utterly focused on the movie in front of him. Or so he says as his gaze keeps drifting across the room.
It’s pure coincidence that the side of the room he keeps sneaking glances at is where Bakugo and Midoriya are seated together in the corner, exchanging whispers about something.
The fact that Shoto does not know what this ‘something’ is irritates him.
He’s not scowling and Midoriya is animated, hands flying as he quietly murmurs. Bakugo actually seems to laugh at something, which is…well, rare.
His stomach does a small, unnecessary flip.
He looks away. The screen shows cars made out of candy, very interesting. Then back. Then away again, then back. It’s like his eyes have developed their own gravitational pull, and for some reason Bakugo is the star, his mass warping the fabric of his own space.
Annoying.
“Dude,” Sero catches his eyeline, “Are you listening?”
He drags his eyes back to the screen. Fix it Felix falling in love at first sight, very fascinating, clearly. And unrealistic. “I’m watching the movie.”
Iida, oblivious, continues: “Which is why you can’t keep waking up ten minutes before the bell—”
“You’ve been staring and pulling that weird face for like ten minutes.” Sero nudges him.
“I haven’t.”
“You have,” he insists, shrugging, “not like I blame you. They’re joined at the hip these days.”
The two-toned boy’s jaw clenches unconsciously, “they’re just friends.”
“Or not, catch my drift?” Sero wiggles his eyebrows playfully. That’s the third time someone has insinuated romance.
The only responsible one present cuts in, visibly scandalised, “Sero, that’s hardly appropriate—”
He gets ignored, Sero still wearing a grin, “Careful, people are going to start thinking you’re a homophobe.”
Shoto nearly chokes on his own spit. “I—what? No. I’m not—” He sputters, “That’s not—”
Sero laughs, waving him off. “Relax, I’m just messing with you. Geez.”
But Shoto can’t ‘relax’ now that the suggestion is out in the open. The word lodges in his brain like a splinter, and suddenly everything feels too loud, too bright. Was he homophobic? He never processed it that way. Not like he was overly fixated on male relationships. On Katsuki’s male relationships. It’s only a coincidence that he held interest in how his dynamics worked. Plus, it was Kaminari that initially suggested they may be more than friends. The irritation was pure coincide—
Oh my god, was he homophobic?
And that’s how he’s now ended up here in the dark of his dorm room, six separate tabs open on his laptop as he searched the internet for the comfort that he was not an unconscious homophobe.
Yet, nothing offered a clear solution here. He tried searching ‘symptoms of homophobia’, which didn’t align at all.
‘Can you be jealous of friends?’ was a useless search.
‘Why is it annoying when your friend talks to other people?’ Which only suggested co-dependency. He is definitely not codependent on Bakugo.
He even finds a BuzzFeed quiz titled ‘Are you secretly homophobic?’ and takes it thrice to be sure.
None of it helps, and he’s running out of options.
It’s well into the night now as he browses Google. He finds yet another article about 'managing jealousy in friendships.' None of them help. All of them assume you want to be less attached to your friends, not more
Still nothing useful.
He’s about to give up when a thread pops up on a forum he’s heard of but never used: r/AmITheAsshole?
A place where anonymous strangers post their weirdest social problems and get judged by other, less anonymous strangers.
Shoto clicks through a few posts.
‘AITA for making a joke about my brother’s affair at his wedding?’
That sounds obvious.
‘AITA for ‘abandoning’ my best friend that I kinda have weird tension with to progress in a football training facility?’
I…guess not?
‘AITA for reposting ‘#Ihatemyboyfriend’ posts as a joke?’
If it’s a joke, who cares?
‘AITA for breaking up with my boyfriend that’s not my boyfriend after he confessed that he became a cult leader?’
…Okay.
It’s a goldmine of unsolicited opinions and questionable moral compasses. At least he isn’t alone in his confusion.
He hesitates for only a second. If the internet can solve who’s at fault for…breakups and cult leaders, surely someone out there can diagnose whether he’s a bad person for… whatever this is.
He creates an account; username: sobanoodles18 (totally anonymous), and begins typing.
r/AmITheAsshole
u/sobanoodle18
Am I (16M) the asshole for hating when my classmate (16M) spends a potentially homosexual amount of time with other men?
Hi,
I’m not sure if I'm using this right; this is my first time on here. I made this for anonymity (I do not eat soba noodles, they're very average. The username is coincidental). I’ve been searching the internet and found this forum and now think this might be my only option.
My current dilemma is that I may have made the late-stage discovery that I am homophobic, and I’m unsure how to unlearn it. The issue isn’t my classmate (for the most part), I just don’t enjoy watching him interact with men, as bad as that sounds.
For context, my classmate and I have known each other for a while. Recently, I’ve noticed that every time he talks, laughs, or even looks at another guy, I get this weird, uncomfortable feeling in my chest. I thought maybe it was just a bad day, but it’s happened three times now. I even caught myself timing how long he made eye contact with someone else (Twelve seconds. Rough estimate.)
One of my other friends joked that I must be homophobic. I did a bunch of online quizzes, but the results were inconclusive. I don’t think I’m a bigot, but I do hate watching him laugh with other guys. It’s even worse if they have inside jokes. Because why do they need inside jokes?
Is this a sign of homophobia, or just a severe case of wanting to be involved?
How do I stop being irrationally annoyed by this?
Should I just avoid him altogether, or is there a way to fix this?
Thanks in advance,
u/sobanoodle18
He leans back, scanning the draft briefly before nodding. This is fine, very discreet. He posts it and shuts his laptop, deciding he should probably give it a few days.
However, for the next few hours he struggles to focus on anything else.
First, he does push-ups. Then, he reorganises his entire sock drawer by colour, then by thickness.
He tries to watch One Piece but remembers he doesn’t have the commitment skills to even try and get into it.
He even tries meditating, which he discovers is dreadfully overrated.
By the time he checks the clock, it’s 2:46 AM.
He caves and cracks open the laptop, heart pounding a little too hard for someone who barely understands Reddit as it is.
There are responses. So. Many. Responses.
|> u/denkatron: Ennis del mar hi Im a big fan
|> u/thereddestofriots: Kaminari, why do you have 82,453 contributions
|> u/denkadron: wtv ion evn curr dwg fr
|> u/spidermanwannabe: whos gonna tell him
|> u/allmightdagoat: is anyone gonna question why these replies only consist of people we know directly?
|> u/spideywannabe: YO chill on that 4th wall
|> u/thestrongest: been there lol. Don’t take him to kfc pls.
|> u/1Amustbeabolished: nta. He should contain his homoerotic urges.
|> u/notaizawasson: you of all people cannot be talking homotron 4000
|> u/1Amustbeabolished: Iron Man dies.
|> u/notaizawasson: about seven years too late for that bs
|> u/thereddestofriots: HE DIES?!?!?!?
|> u/certifiedsigmamale: first youre racist now homophobic? YTA! 😂😒 ladies if you want a respectful alpha male, add me on discord @ minetalpha (I stan loona and drink matcha ladies 🙈)
|> u/pinkyUP: mods seize him
|> u/allmightdagoat: he’s not racist!!!
|> u/spidermanwannabe: u gonna deny the homophobic part or…?
|> u/capitalBcapitalK: genuinely what was going through your mind as you typed this out
|> u/denkatron: for example nothing
|> u/thereddestofriots: YOOOO BIG KACCHAN ON REDDIIITTT
|> u/pinkyUP: good luck, babe!
|> u/literallyaburner: I can’t believe we share genetics
|> u/ notthatonehero: hey lol
|> u/literallyaburner: bye lol
|> u/leastfavouritetodoroki: ?????
|> u/fuyumigumi: ??????
|> u/creationstation: nta!!! I also tend to think like this around one of my female friends, totally normal!!
|> u/denkatron: yo happy pride
|> u/narusasumyOTP: I love this genre of BL
|> u/1v1meonleague: yta 🙄 of course the number one’s prodigy is a bigot. Can’t expect anything less from these ppl smh
|> u/itsabirditsaplaneitsuravity: uhh, Todoroki. Maybe do some self reflection! All love!
|> u/shadowdark56: why does everyone think it’s Todoroki?
|> u/capitalBcapitalK: who the fuck else would have that username?????
|> u/shadowdark56: …fair
|> u/cutestgirlitw: nta! Ur just into boys!!! <3333
|> u/1v1meonleague: get off this pathetic hero thread toga
|> u/cutestgirlitw: you literally just replied to it too???
|> u/spinnerakiismyotp: hi tomura
|> u/1v1meonleague: what the fuck is your username
|> u/Literallyaburner: whole house gay
|> u/1v1meonleague: your username stupid as fuck too dont start
|> u/denkadron: someone call da feds bru :0 911 hello
|> u/allmightdagoat: This is Japan
|> u/jetlegs: I’ve truly never seen anything like this before. Wow.
|> u/allmightdagoat: Im actually really intrigued by how he reached this conclusion
|> u/someloseronreddit: depends. how hot is he?
...He genuinely considered this for a moment. Temperature-wise, definitely above average. It was a given with his quirk. Visually…also above average.
Hm. Maybe he wasn’t a homophobe. He slowly closed his laptop at the realisation that he might’ve mistaken attraction for bigotry. Maybe he should clarify this to Bakugo. He definitely should clarify this to Bakugo…in the morning.
He spends the next hour lying awake, turning over Reddit replies in his head (‘this is my favourite genre of BL’ echoing the loudest, because what does that even mean?). It’s clear he can’t sleep until he does something about this.
I mean, it technically is morning.
So, at 3:18 AM, Shoto finds himself in the hallway, standing outside Bakugo’s dorm room. He rehearses what he’s going to say: ‘I am not a bigot, I was just… confused.’ ‘Would you like to discuss the logistics of our relationship?’ but none of it sounds quite right.
He has no clue what to say if he opens the door. He’s not even sure if he wants him to open the door.
Regardless, he knocks. Quietly.
There’s a muttered curse from inside, then the door cracks open. Bakugo squints at him, hair even more chaotic than usual, rubbing at one eye. “What do you want, Half-and-Half? It’s the middle of the damn night.”
Shoto blurts, “I’m not homophobic.”
Bakugo just stares at him. “Okay?” He sounds less angry, more deeply confused. “Did you wake me up just to tell me you’re not homophobic?”
“I asked Reddit.”
“Yeah. I saw. Reddit? Of all places?”
“Yep…” he balances on the balls of his feet for a few moments, “I think I may have mistaken my attraction to you for homophobia.”
The blond only sighs. He doesn’t blame him; what else was he supposed to do? He’s not scowling, at least.
“You were so attracted to me you thought you were homophobic?”
“Yes.”
“You fucking idiot,” Bakugo rolls his eyes, dragging him inside by the collar, “just get in here.”
Shoto didn’t really have a choice. Even if he did, he wouldn’t refuse.
He should probably delete the post. Or not; he’ll query Reddit tomorrow.